“I am sad to report that we had two coronavirus-related deaths since our last update,” said Minister of Health, Kim Wilson. “I am sorry for these losses and extend my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the family and loved ones of the deceased.”

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 5768 test results, and 205 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 4%.

These results are from testing done on:

·Tuesday: 50 positive out of 1436 results (3.5% positivity)

·Wednesday:  24 positive out of  968 results (2.5% positivity)

·Thursday: 38 positive out of 1148 results (3.3% positivity)

·Friday: 24 positive out of 669 results (3.6% positivity)

·Saturday: 15 positive out of 196 results (7.7% positivity)

·Sunday: 29 positive out of 408 results (6.4% positivity)

·Monday: 25 positive out of 897 results (2.8% positivity)

·73 of the new cases are classified as imported with a history of travel in the previous 14 days.

·The additional 132 new cases are classified as either local transmission (37) or under investigation (95). 

Additionally, there were 225 recoveries and two deaths.

There are 229 active cases, of which:

·224 are under public health monitoring; and

·5 are in hospital, with 0 in intensive care.

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 16162 coronavirus cases, out of which 15249 have recovered, and sadly there have been 140 coronavirus-related deaths.

The source of all active cases is as follows:

·85 are Imported

·47 are classified as local transmission

·97 are Under Investigation

The source of all confirmed cases is as follows:

·3202 are Imported

·12457 are classified as local transmission of which:

o   5437 are Local transmission with known contact/source and

o   7020 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source

·503 are Under Investigation

As investigations proceed, transmission categories may change. For age distributions and overall transmission categories, please refer to https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-covid19-update. The seven-day average of our real-time reproduction number is 0.77.

For information regarding other conditions being reported to the Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit, please refer to https://www.gov.bm/health-information.

“It is important to note that the Ministry of Health is only reporting positive coronavirus cases from the data we collect,” said Minister Wilson. “So we know that the number of cases we are reporting is much lower than what is actually occurring in the community as we cannot collect data from people who are testing positive at home. However, we can say that our data shows an increasing number of persons entering the islands that are testing positive on arrival.

“Residents are reminded that when travelling, take precautions, follow public health guidance, and you should diligently try to avoid catching the virus. The pandemic is not over, and other countries are seeing more coronavirus cases.

“Coronavirus community testing is available daily at Perot Post Office between 10 am -2 pm. Please visit https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-get-tested to make an appointment. We encourage people to visit the Government portal for all coronavirus-related information and guidance; www.gov.bm.”

Bermuda residents wishing to apply for an emergency or humanitarian vaccination exception to travel to the United States must compile the required information as noted on the CDC’s websites and provide the information in the exact format listed to the U.S. Consulate in Bermuda via email at hamiltonconsulate@state.gov.  Do not send the exception request as an attachment; it must be in the body of your email.

The request will be forwarded to the CDC for a determination.  Travelers will be informed of the CDC’s decision via email. Visit https://bm.usconsulate.gov/covid-19-information/ for complete details.

Minister Wilson concluded, “Please continue to follow public health guidance. Avoid closed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings. Wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene, ensure proper ventilation indoors and maintain physical distance.”